


All That Matters

by rainbowgoddess



Category: due South
Genre: Challenge Response, Drama, M/M, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-01-10
Updated: 2001-01-10
Packaged: 2018-11-10 23:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11136843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowgoddess/pseuds/rainbowgoddess
Summary: Fraser experiences complications from the bullet wound in his back.





	All That Matters

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).
    
    
    Ray Vecchio, detective first grade, Chicago P.D., looked up as his 'unofficial'
    partner entered the squad room. He smiled as he saw Fraser coming toward
    him. He and Benny were partners off the job as well, and Ray thanked
    God every day for bringing the Canadian into his life. 
    
    There was no real defining moment when they had "fallen in love." Ray
    preferred to think of it as "growing" into love. They had been partners
    and friends for some time before their relationship took a romantic turn,
    and even then it had been gradual. A touch that lasted longer than usual,
    a hand on the shoulder that stayed there rather than being removed right
    away, a hug that somehow seemed more intense than before. Finally, Ray
    had just gone ahead and kissed Benny, and they'd both known that this
    was right for them.
    
    It hadn't all been smooth sailing. Ray valued his privacy and would not
    tell anyone about his and Benny's new relationship. He wouldn't tell
    his family and he wouldn't tell his fellow cops. He knew that this bothered
    Fraser, but the Mountie went along with it, though not without several
    complaints.
    
    Ray looked at Benny approaching, and noticed that his partner seemed
    to be moving a bit stiffly. When Fraser arrived at his desk, he asked,
    "Something wrong, Benny? You look a bit stiff." 
    
    "My back hurts, that's all. Nothing serious," replied Fraser.
    
    "Your back? Is it - " Ray didn't finish. Is it my bullet? he wanted to
    ask. The bullet that he had fired at Victoria Metcalfe, the one that
    had landed in Benny's back in a place where it couldn't be removed. The
    bullet that could have killed him.
    
    "Ray," said Fraser, "my back hurts. That's all. I'm not as young as I
    used to be. I'm nearly forty years old. There's bound to be some damage
    from all of the strain that I've put on it over the years."
    
    "I hear ya, Benny," said Ray, trying not to let his concern show too
    much. "Some mornings I look in the mirror and I wonder who the old guy
    is looking back at me." 
    
    "Your age must be affecting your memory, Ray, if you don't recognize
    your own reflection," Fraser teased.
    
    "Sure, rub it in," Ray complained good-naturedly as he and Fraser exited
    the bullpen. When he was certain that no one was in earshot, he added,
    "I'll give you a massage when we get to your place, okay?"
    
    "I look forward to it," Benny answered as he slipped an arm around his
    partner's waist. Ray quickly pushed the arm away.
    
    "Not in public, Benny, remember?"
    
    The Canadian quickly removed the offending arm and clasped his hands
    behind his back to better resist the temptation to touch his lover. "Of
    course, how could I forget?" he murmured. 
    
    The Italian sighed. He hated it when Fraser put on what Ray privately
    referred to as his 'long suffering martyr' expression. He couldn't afford
    to be outed, especially not at the precinct. Gay cops were targets of
    abuse, harassment, even threats. He wouldn't take the risk that one day
    he would call for backup and none would show up.
    
    Once they were at Benny's apartment, Ray's bad mood lessened. He helped
    his partner undress and then Fraser lay down on the bed with Ray straddling
    him. As he rubbed Benny's sore muscles, Ray couldn't help glance at the
    scar that showed the location of his bullet. He noticed that the area
    around it seemed a bit swollen. "Benny, how long has this swelling been
    here?" he asked.
    
    "Swelling?" asked the Mountie. "What swelling?"
    
    "The swelling around - around your bullet wound." Ray carefully touched
    the swollen area. "It feels a bit hot, too. You have some inflammation
    here."
    
    "I'm sure it's nothing," Benny said dismissively. He didn't like to think
    about the bullet in his back. It was a constant reminder of his failure
    where Victoria was concerned. He'd betrayed Ray, his partner and best
    friend.  He'd almost run away from Ray, from his job, from Chicago entirely.
    Ray's bullet had prevented him from making what would have been the biggest
    mistake of his life.  It was a small price to pay. But Ray didn't see
    that. He blamed himself, and couldn't seem to stop beating himself up
    over having shot Fraser. Sometimes Ben even wondered if Ray had become
    his lover out of some sort of feeling of guilt or obligation. He seldom
    said, "I love you." Considering that his partner was normally a demonstrative
    man, Benny found that unusual. He himself found the words difficult to
    say; he hadn't heard them when he was growing up, not since his mother
    died. His father frowned on expressions of love, even going so far as
    to say he would have hit his son if he'd said he loved him.
    
    "Benny, you should have a doctor check it out, there might be something
    wrong," Ray said in a concerned voice.
    
    "I really don't have time to see a doctor," answered his lover. "My schedule
    at the Consulate is quite busy lately. I doubt Inspector Thatcher will
    be able to give me any time off." 
    
    Ray frowned. "I'm sure that the Dragon Lady would understand if you needed
    to see a doctor." Then he added, "Or is it a money thing? Can't you afford
    to go to the doctor?" 
    
    "Money isn't a problem, Ray. The Canadian government covers medical expenses
    for all members of the RCMP, no matter where in the world we're stationed."
    
    "Oh, right. I forgot." Ray still found it hard to wrap his mind around
    the fact that Canadians didn't pay for medical care. Benny had told him
    that the system was far from perfect - there were waiting lists, shortages
    of doctors and nurses, and chronic underfunding, but the idea that anyone
    in Canada could go to a doctor without having to worry about being able
    to pay for it sounded pretty darn good to him. Maybe when he retired
    he and Benny could move to Canada. 
    
    Wait a minute. When he retired? He realized that he had just made the
    assumption that he and Benny would still be together then. Ray smiled.
    He really hoped that would happen. Maybe tomorrow he'd talk to Personnel
    about diverting more money from his paycheck into his retirement plan.
    He might be able to retire sooner that way.
    
    Noticing the time, Ray rose. "I'd better get going, Benny. I'm late for
    dinner as it is." 
    
    Fraser caught his hand and gazed into his eyes. "I wish you could stay,"
    he whispered. 
    
    "I wish I could too, Benny. But you know why I can't."
    
    "I know why you say you can't."
    
    "Benny, we've been over this."
    
    "I understand why you can't be out at work, Ray. But your family loves
    you. I would think you would want to share your happiness with them.
    That is, if you really are happy with me," Benny added.
    
    "Benny, if I told my family about us, can't you see what would happen?
    Ma would be devastated to think she's raised a gay son. She'd blame herself,
    think she'd done something wrong. Frannie would go ballistic thinking
    I'm taking you away from her. Maria might try to keep me away from her
    kids. I don't want to risk it."
    
    "Isn't our relationship worth the risk?" Fraser asked.
    
    "I don't have time for this now, Benny. I've given you my reasons. If
    you can't accept them, maybe we should rethink this relationship. I have
    to go." And Ray walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind
    him.
    
    Fraser watched him leave, his mouth hanging open in shock. A sick feeling
    started in the pit of his stomach. Ray had left him. He'd said they should
    "rethink" their relationship. Ray didn't love him. That thought repeated
    itself over and over. Ray didn't love him. 
    
    Later that night as he lay in bed, Ray tossed and turned. He'd regretted
    his angry words to his partner almost as soon as he'd said them, but
    he'd been both too proud and too ashamed to go back and apologize. He'd
    just been tired and frustrated. He'd told Benny so many times why he
    didn't want to come out to his family, but the Canadian kept pressuring
    him to do so. Why couldn't he leave it alone?
    
    The more he thought about it, though, the more he considered the possibility
    that maybe Benny was right. He shouldn't have to hide his love for his
    partner. Benny deserved more than kisses snatched when no one was looking,
    quickies in the afternoon after work, weekends spent with Ray's family
    that Ray couldn't even enjoy for fear that his and Benny's feelings for
    each other would "show." Their relationship shouldn't be hidden like
    some dirty secret that he was ashamed of.
    
    He realized that he hardly ever told Benny that he loved him. He knew
    that his lover was uncomfortable saying the "l" word himself - he had
    his upbringing to thank for that. So Ray didn't say it, for fear of making
    Benny uncomfortable. But Ray didn't need to hear the words to know that
    Benny loved him. The Mountie showed his love in so many ways. He'd risked
    his life for Ray more than once. But did Benny know that Ray loved him?
    Ray was so busy trying to make sure that no one saw them touch each other
    or heard them express their feelings that sometimes he didn't touch Benny
    at all, or tell him how much he loved him, how happy he was that they
    were together. Well, he'd change that. Tomorrow he'd call Benny at the
    Consulate and arrange to take him out for lunch. He'd apologize for the
    things he'd said today, and tell him that he loved him, no matter who
    was in earshot. And in the morning he'd talk to his Ma and his sisters
    about Benny.
    
    By noon the next day Ray was getting impatient to see his partner. He
    wanted to tell him that he'd come out to his family. It had gone better
    than he'd feared. Ma was more disappointed than anything, he thought.
    Ray's being in a same sex relationship didn't really fit with her hopes
    for him, but she told him that she loved him, no matter what. Maria had
    simply shrugged, said she was surprised, but it was Ray's life. Frannie
    had been a bit tougher. She still held out hope that one day Benny would
    fall madly in love with her, and now it didn't look like there was much
    chance of that happening. She wept and wailed and threw a temper tantrum,
    but finally calmed down once she got it out of her system. "Are you happy?"
    she finally asked, with a sniffle. 
    
    "Yeah, Frannie, we are," her brother told her.
    
    She fixed him with a stern look. "If you hurt him, Ray, you'll have me
    to answer to." 
    
    Ray hugged her. "I'll remember that, Sis. And, Frannie, you'll find someone.
    One day. " 
    
    Francesca shooed him out of the house. "Go to work already so you can
    keep your lunch date." 
    
    Meanwhile, at the Canadian Consulate, Fraser wasn't feeling well. He'd
    barely slept the night before, his argument with Ray running through
    his mind. And his back hurt. He couldn't ignore it. He hadn't told Ray,
    but the pain was centered around the place where the bullet still sat.
    Maybe his partner had been right. Maybe he should see a doctor. He headed
    toward Inspector Thatcher's office.
    
    "What is it, Constable?" asked the Inspector distractedly.
    
    "Sir, I'm ... not feeling well," he blurted out before collapsing. 
    
    Meg Thatcher remained calm. She called an ambulance, then tried to make
    her Liaison Officer as comfortable as possible until it arrived. She
    loosened the restrictive uniform and asked Constable Turnbull to fetch
    a blanket, which she used to cover Fraser. She wasn't able to answer
    many of the paramedics' questions, unfortunately. She simply didn't know
    why Fraser had collapsed. "He said he wasn't feeling well, then he passed
    out," she told them. 
    
    As the paramedics prepared to take Fraser to the hospital, Meg thought
    of another call she should make. She picked up the phone and dialled
    the 27th precinct, asking to speak to Detective Ray Vecchio.
    
    "Vecchio," Ray answered the phone.
    
    "Detective, this is Inspector Thatcher at the Canadian Consulate." 
    
    Ray sat bolt upright. The Dragon Lady was calling him? Something must
    have happened to Benny!
    
    "Y-yes, Inspector, what is it?" he stammered, his heart in his throat.
    
    "Constable Fraser collapsed at work today. He's at St. Francis Hospital.
    I don't know what his condition is. I'm on my way over there, but I see
    from his personnel file that you're his emergency contact so I thought
    I should let you know what happened." 
    
    "Thank you, Inspector," Ray managed to mumble before he hung up the phone.
    Benny had collapsed? Benny was in the hospital? Damn it, he had told
    the Canadian to see a doctor. Yelling over his shoulder to Elaine that
    he was on his way to the hospital to see his partner, he rushed out of
    the precinct.
    
    The detective broke all the speed laws in Chicago on his way to the hospital.
    Once there he flew down the hall to the admitting desk and demanded to
    see Benny. The nurse told him that the doctors were busy examining Fraser
    and that Ray would just have to wait. Muttering under his breath, Ray
    waited.
    
    In the examining room, Fraser drifted in and out of awareness. He was
    not quite conscious, but not completely unconscious either. He was vaguely
    aware of his surroundings, of people poking and prodding him and sometimes
    trying to talk to him, but he didn't feel able to respond. Not that he
    really cared. He just wanted to be left alone. Ray didn't love him. Nothing
    else mattered. He wanted to sleep. He wondered if dying was anything
    like falling asleep. Maybe he could just go to sleep and not wake up
    again. That would be easy, he thought. He wouldn't cause any trouble
    for anyone that way. Maybe a few people would miss him, but not for long.
    Ray didn't love him.  If he did survive, he'd ask for a transfer out
    of Chicago. But where would he go? There wasn't anywhere in Canada he'd
    be welcome. He drifted into unconsciousness again. 
    
    After what seemed to Ray like several years, a doctor emerged to talk
    to him. 
    
    "Constable Fraser has a massive systemic infection, and it's causing
    his body's systems to shut down," the doctor, whose name was Fisher,
    said. "It seems to have been caused by the bullet in his back. The site
    where the bullet is lodged has become infected, and I guess he ignored
    the signs, because the infection has spread. I'd like to take a chance
    on removing the bullet, but I'd prefer it if he were a bit more stable
    first."
    
    "But they said when he first got shot that they couldn't remove the bullet,"
    Ray protested. 
    
    "I realize that. I've read the records, though, and I think that it can
    be removed safely, as long as we take the right precautions. But first,
    as I said, I would like him to be more stable, and we can't seem to get
    him stabilized. We have him on intravenous antibiotics and some painkillers.
    He's drifting in and out of consciousness. He seems to be fighting us.
    It's almost as if he doesn't want to get better."
    
    //Doesn't want to get better?// Oh no. Ray thought of the things he'd
    said yesterday, the angry words about "rethinking this relationship."
    Had Benny taken them seriously? Did he think that Ray wanted to break
    up with him? "I have to see him."
    
    "He's not really in any shape to have visitors right now, Detective,"
    the doctor protested. 
    
    "I don't care. You said he doesn't want to get better. There's a reason
    for that - I'm the reason. He thinks I've abandoned him. You have to
    understand, Doctor, everyone that Benny's ever loved has left him. He
    needs to know that I'm not leaving him." Ray didn't know why he was telling
    this to a complete stranger. He hadn't wanted to come out to his own
    family, now he was coming out to someone he'd just met. But Benny was
    that important to him. And the doctor had to know that.
    
    Fisher sighed. "I'm willing to try anything if it will help my patient.
    Go ahead and talk to him," and he directed Ray to Benny's room.
    
    Fraser drifted back into awareness. He wasn't entirely awake. He felt
    as if he were drifting. The medications he was being given were probably
    the cause of that. He was vaguely aware that someone had come into the
    room. The newcomer approached his bed and sat down. Ben could feel anxiety
    practically pouring off this person. A hand reached out and took his.
    "Benny?" said a familiar voice.
    
    Ray! Ray was here. Why was he here? Maybe he felt guilty. Fraser wanted
    to tell him not to. It wasn't his fault if he didn't love Benny. You
    couldn't just decide to love someone or not love them. 
    
    "Benny, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, about rethinking our relationship.
    I didn't mean it. I don't want our relationship to change, except that
    I want other people to know about it, about us. I told my family, Benny.
    Ma and Frannie and Maria, they all know. They know that I love you."
    
    Love? Ben wished that someone would come and check his ears for him.
    He thought he'd just heard Ray say that he loved him. But that couldn't
    be right. Ray didn't love him. 
    
    "I know I don't say it often enough, Benny, but I love you. Please don't
    leave me, Benny. Stay with me. Fight this infection or whatever it is.
    I need you."
    
    If Fraser hadn't been feeling too tired to move, he would have shaken
    his head or slapped his ears, anything to clear up his hearing. He couldn't
    possibly be hearing what he thought he was hearing. But the catch in
    Ray's voice sounded genuine. Then he felt his hand being lifted to his
    partner's face. He felt some wetness on the other man's cheek. Ray was
    crying? 
    
    Ray was crying.
    
    Fraser had never seen Ray cry before, not even when Irene had been killed.
    But here he was now, sitting at Fraser's bedside, and he was crying.
    
    Ray really did love him.
    
    It took almost all of his remaining strength, but he managed to gasp
    out his partner's name. "Ray."
    
    Ray jumped up and leaned over the bed. "Benny? Can you hear me?"
    
    "Ray ... love you."
    
    "I know you do, Benny. I've always known that. But it's good to hear.
    I love you, too. You stay with me, got that? Don't you dare leave me."
    
    Fraser managed one more word before he fell asleep again. "Never." 
    
    Over the next few days Fraser's condition gradually improved. The medication
    was working, but it was Ray's presence at his side that really made a
    difference. He had other visitors - Thatcher and Turnbull, some of the
    detectives from the 27th precinct, and the rest of the Vecchio family.
    But Ray never left. He stayed right by Fraser's bed, sometimes napping
    in a chair, but never far away. He didn't care who saw him there, and
    he even touched his partner or held his hand when they had visitors.
    Fortunately Mrs. Vecchio brought food with her when she visited, because
    Benny thought that Ray wouldn't even leave him long enough to get something
    to eat. 
    
    Then the day that Ray had been dreading arrived. The doctors decided
    that Fraser was well enough to undergo surgery to remove the bullet from
    his back. "I won't kid you," said the surgeon, "it's a risky procedure.
    Constable Fraser could come out of it unable to walk." 
    
    Ray and Benny thanked him, then asked for some time alone before they
    took Fraser to the operating room.
    
    "Ray, if anything happens ... if I become paralyzed ... I don't expect
    you to stay with me," Fraser said carefully.
    
    "How can you say that?" exclaimed Ray. "I love you, you crazy Mountie.
    I won't leave you. No matter what."
    
    "But if I'm paralyzed, there will be things - you know, intimate things
    - that I won't be able to do with you."
    
    "You think I care about that? About sex? Benny, as long as you're alive,
    that's all that matters. Anything else is a luxury. I don't want you
    to be paralyzed, but if you are, I'll accept it and I'll stay with you
    and I'll take care of you for as long as we have together. I'll take
    early retirement so I can be with you all the time."
    
    Fraser said nothing as he absorbed his partner's words. Then he lay back
    on his pillow and closed his eyes as the sedatives he'd been given began
    to take effect. "I love you, Ray," he whispered. 
    
    Ray kissed him. "I love you, Benny. I'll see you soon." And then the
    orderlies came to take Benny to surgery.
    
    Ray waited, pacing the hall, for hours while the surgery went on. He
    couldn't help but think of the first time he'd waited for Benny to come
    out of surgery. The time he'd shot Benny. Then there had even been the
    risk that Benny would die. If Fraser hadn't survived, Ray had known that
    the next bullet to leave his gun would have taken his own life. Fortunately,
    it hadn't turned out that way.
    
    When the doctor finally came out, Ray cornered him in the hallway. "What's
    the news?" he wanted to know.
    
    "Constable Fraser is in recovery. We were able to remove the bullet with
    a minimum of trouble," the surgeon answered. "As for the question of
    paralysis," he added before Ray could ask, "that's still uncertain. We'll
    have to see how he feels when he wakes up." 
    
    Ray sighed and thanked him. More waiting. He hated waiting. But what
    else could he do? He'd promised Benny that he'd take care of him, and
    he would, no matter what. But he hated to think of Benny in a wheelchair.
    In a wheelchair because of him. How long would it take before Benny started
    blaming him? Before his lover couldn't look at him without thinking of
    the shot that had changed everything?
    
    He told himself he was borrowing trouble, to use an expression he'd heard
    from his Ma. He didn't know yet if Benny would be paralyzed. Maybe he
    would be all right. 
    
    He stood and watched his sleeping partner. //I'll never hurt you again,
    Benny. Never.// 
    
    Fraser slept for the rest of that day and most of the next. He woke briefly
    a few times, obviously in pain, and Ray would give him a drink of water,
    hold his hand, and talk to him until he went back to sleep, usually with
    the help of the pain meds that were being delivered by a helpful intravenous
    pump.
    
    When he finally woke up, Benny found Ray at his side, the same way the
    detective had been since he had first been admitted more than a week
    earlier. "Ray, have you gone home at all since I've been here?" 
    
    Vecchio shrugged. "Nope," was his reply.
    
    "Now that's silly, Ray. You need to sleep, and shower, and spend time
    with your family." 
    
    "I sleep here. I shower in your bathroom over there. And *you* are my
    family." 
    
    "But Ray ..."
    
    "Shush, Benny. I'm not doing anything I don't want to do. Now, how are
    you feeling?" 
    
    Fraser knew it wasn't any use lying to his lover. "It hurts," he said
    simply. 
    
    "Well, that's no big surprise. I'd be more worried if it didn't hurt.
    At least this means you can feel something."
    
    "I don't know yet if - " Ben started to say.
    
    "That's okay, Benny. We'll wait and see what the doctor says about whether
    you can walk or not, okay?"
    
    "Okay." But the doctor was held up with another patient, and was not
    able to see Fraser right away. Eventually, the Mountie fell asleep again,
    Ray still keeping watch over him. 
    
    Finally, Dr. Fisher arrived to see Benny. Ray hovered impatiently as
    the surgeon performed some simple tests to check the Mountie's reflexes
    and see how much feeling he had in his legs. 
    
    "Do you think you can stand up, Constable Fraser?" the doctor asked.
    
    Ray jumped up, ready to support his partner if he fell. The doctor motioned
    for him to stand back - Fraser had to try standing on his own. And he
    did. He was a bit weak and shaky, but he stood without assistance.
    
    "Now, can you walk a few steps?" the doctor requested.
    
    Fraser took a few steps toward Ray before he stumbled slightly. Ray caught
    him in his arms and hugged him hard. "You did it, Benny!" 
    
    Fraser gave him a slightly self-conscious smile. Ray helped him back
    into bed then waited to hear what the doctor had to say.
    
    "You'll need some physical therapy before you can go back to work, Constable,
    but it looks like you're going to be just fine. There's no permanent
    damage." He paused, then asked curiously, "By the way, how did you get
    shot? I assume it was a criminal, but I'm a bit confused, since you were
    shot in the back, and normally a shooter wouldn't be behind a pursuing
    police officer." 
    
    Fraser didn't answer. Ray finally said, "It wasn't a criminal. I shot
    him." 
    
    "By accident," Fraser added quickly.
    
    "It's a long story," Ray mumbled.
    
    Realizing that the subject seemed to make the two men uncomfortable,
    the doctor changed topics. "Constable Fraser, I understand that you live
    alone. I don't want to release you from the hospital unless you have
    someone to look after you."
    
    "He'll be staying with me," Ray stated. "My mother and sisters will help
    me look after him." 
    
    "Good," said Dr. Fisher. "Well, Constable Fraser isn't ready to leave
    us just yet, but before he does I will give you any instructions you
    need to help you take care of him." And the doctor left them alone once
    more.
    
    "Ray, how do you expect me to stay in your house with you and still hide
    our relationship?" Ben asked his partner.
    
    "We don't have to hide it. I already told Ma and Frannie and Maria about
    us. They don't have a problem with it. And even if they did, I don't
    care."
    
    "When did this take place?" the Canadian inquired.
    
    "The day you got sick. I was planning to call you and take you to lunch
    so that I could tell you that I came out to my family."
    
    "What made you change your mind?" 
    
    Ray sighed. "I couldn't stand to see how much it hurt you every time
    I avoided touching you, or stopped you from touching me, when we were
    around my family.  And the things I said to you the night before, about
    'rethinking' our relationship - I was so ashamed of saying them, and
    I realized how much it must have hurt you.  It just seemed like every
    time I made an excuse for not telling them I hurt you more. I don't ever
    want to hurt you again, Benny." 
    
    "What about the precinct?" Ben wanted to know.
    
    "Well, I didn't make any announcements or anything, but I figure that
    since I took a leave of absence to stay here with you, and I've been
    right here beside your bed every time Welsh or Huey or Elaine comes to
    visit, they must have figured it out by now."
    
    "And are you all right with that?"
    
    "Benny, I could have lost you. You could have died thinking that I didn't
    love you. Everything else is insignificant next to that. You're here
    and you're okay. That's all that matters to me." 
    
    "I love you, Ray."
    
    "I love you too, Benny." And he didn't care if anyone heard him say that,
    or if anyone saw him bend over and kiss his partner directly on the lips.
    
    END
    
    


End file.
